To
historians of pop culture, Mr. Kurtzman is one of the most important
figures in postwar America.

---The
New York Times

Kurtzman
has been the single most significant influence on a couple of generations
of comic artists.

---art
spiegelman

Harvey
Kurtzman (1924-1993) was a cartoonist, writer, editor and comics
genius. He is probably best remembered for MAD, which he
founded in 1952. He created 28 revolutionary issues with such talent
as Will Elder, Jack Davis, and Wally Wood but left after a bitter
falling out in 1956 with E.C. publisher Bill Gaines (for whom he
also created Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat).

Kurtzman
then created the short-lived satire magazine Trump for Playboy
publisher Hugh Hefner in 1957. He followed with the comic-size Humbug
in 1958, then Help! magazine. During his Help! tenure
he discovered such diverse talent as Terry Gilliam, Gloria Steinem,
Gilbert Shelton, and R. Crumb. In 1962 he and collaborator Will
Elder began producing the long-running and elaborate "Little
Annie Fanny" comic for Playboy. In the 70s he
became known as the "father-in-law of underground comix"
for inspiring a new generation of media-bending cartoonists.